Misunderstanding
by utapyon
Summary: As Aoyama neared his class, he heard voices. Familiar voices. He softened his steps and quietly made his way to the opened door before peering inside. IchinoAoyama fluff! First time writing a fanfic. Comments and reviews would be greatly appreciated!
1. Chapter 1

Water poured onto the muddied, white tiled floor. As the mud began to dissolve into the water, the bristles of a well worn floor brush broke the surface. Scraping and scratching away at the dirt. The rhythmic scrubbing sound echoed through the empty club room. Aoyama wiped the sweat off his forehead and leaned against the handle of the long wooden brush, breathing a sigh of tired relief at another clean section of floor. He glanced over at his best friend, Ichino, who was trying to pry some bubblegum off the underside of the table where Minamisawa used to sit before he left the school. Watching Ichino just made Aoyama think, unintentionally bringing himself back to question what he saw that day.

* * *

Red and gold light, the shades of autumn leaves, poured through the windows of the deserted corridor. The only sound was that of footsteps, Aoyama's footsteps to be exact. He cursed silently at himself for being such an idiot and leaving his homework folder under his desk. He was almost halfway home when he realised that his bag was a fair deal lighter than it was suppose to be, considering the fact that he had two essays to do over the weekend. So Aoyama had to revisit his classroom just to get it. As Aoyama neared his class, he heard voices. Familiar voices. He softened his steps and quietly made his way to the opened door before peering inside.

Seated on a tabletop was Ichino, his bag slung over his shoulder and hanging off the edge of the table. Opposite him sat Shindou, one leg casually crossed over the other, a rather amused smile on his face. Their mouths were moving, but Aoyama couldn't catch what they were saying.

Ichino's laugh rang through the silent classroom, loud enough for Aoyama to hear. The laugh that he had not heard since they had left the soccer team after being defeated by Tsurugi. The sight of Ichino's lit up face, his wide smile as he spoke with the captain caused a painful tug at Aoyama's gut. He felt guilty, eavesdropping like this, but moreover, he felt a tiny bit of jealousy growing within him. He had been best friends with the blonde ever since they were in preschool! They had been together in the same school, same class uptil now even! Aoyama couldn't stop clenching his jaw in sad frustration. He had tried, tried so hard to bring that smile back onto Ichino's face for the past few months. And when Ichino talked with Shindou, his face lit up almost immediately. He stared at the two boys as they got up to leave, still thoroughly engrossed in their conversation. One trip, two seconds. Both Ichino and Shindou now lay on the classroom floor. Ichino, in the midst of their conversation, tripped over Shindou's foot as he got up. In an attempt to steady himself, he grabbed the captain's shoulder, but only pulled Shindou down with him. The two boys were on the floor, Shindou pinning Ichino to the ground (Or so it seemed). Silence, broken by laughter and the stupid grins on their faces. Unaware of the hot tears rolling down his cheeks, he turned to leave them alone. The homework could wait. For now, Aoyama needed to go home to sort through his feelings.

* * *

"Aoyama? Aoyama?"  
Ichino's voice shook Aoyama back to reality. The blonde gave him a worried look. While Aoyama had been in a world of his own, Ichino had finished cleaning and polishing the tables and had come over only to find Aoyama staring blankly into space.

"A-ah... Ichino..." Aoyama mumbled, turning so that the blonde faced his back. Ichino tilted his head slightly to one side, something he did whenever he was curious or didn't understand something.

"What's the matter..? By this point you're usually complaining to me about homework or teachers." Ichino asked the black haired boy, dumping the rag he had been using into a bucket of murky water. The smaller boy didn't answer him, he just kept his back turned.

"You know you can tell me whatever's bothering you, right?" Ichino reassured, holding onto Aoyama's thin arm in an attempt to turn him around. Aoyama jerked his arm out of Ichino's grasp.

"WILL YOU STOP THAT?" He shouted at the blonde, his back still turned. Ichino stood there, his mouth in a silent gasp, a worried look on his face. Even when they fought as kids, Aoyama had NEVER done anything like what he just did.

"Aoyama what's wro-"

"SHUT UP! YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING!" Aoyama yelled, turning to face Ichino,his hands balled into tight fists. Before Ichino could say anything else, Aoyama stormed off, leaving Ichino very hurt and confused.


	2. Chapter 2

After having to finish up the rest of the cleaning on his own, Ichino was trudging home in silence. His mind was reeling with questions, mostly relating to Aoyama. The bench duo had fought quite a fair bit as preschoolers, over toys and candy and such. They had fought in elementary school over who got to play on the swings or with the soccer ball (the fights, most of which, had ended with a talking-to about sharing from their teacher). They had seen each other through their ups and downs. But this was the first time that Aoyama had actually marched off without resolving the issue. Under normal circumstances, Ichino would have been able to figure Aoyama out. Or he would have at least been able talk things over with the raven haired boy. But that look in Aoyama's eyes when he had turned to face Ichino, angry... Hurt... On the verge of tears almost...

The ashen haired midfielder sighed and slipped his hands into his pockets as he looked at the sun slowly setting over Inazuma town. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but to no avail. His mind refused to rest, he couldn't stop thinking about Aoyama. Mostly cheerful. A loyal and supportive friend. Aoyama had stuck and would stick with him no matter what, and over the years, they had become very close. Bright eyes, a beautiful smile. A delicate, fair, slender body. Smooth, dark hair. Whether it was time that had shaped his vision or not, Aoyama was perfect, in every way, in Ichino's eyes.

The midfielder could feel a familiar fluttering in his chest. For some time now, he would get that same sensation whenever he saw, talked with, or thought of his friend. And because of that, their conversations had become shorter and more awkward (on Ichino's side at least). It was a little harder to be as open as he used to be with the constant thumping in his chest whenever he looked at the brunette. He knew that he cared a lot for Aoyama, and at one point considered the possibility of having perhaps some feelings for his friend (although he quickly dismissed the thought). Ichino could have slapped himself for letting his mind wander to that topic. Feelings or no feelings, more importantly he had to clarify some things with Aoyama.

_If he will even talk to me..._He thought, taking a turn away from his house and starting toward Aoyama's.

* * *

Aoyama lay in bed, hands folded behind his head, staring at the ceiling fan going round and round and round... Just like his thoughts. His mind had decided to keep switching scenes between the incident and him yelling at the second team ex-captain.

_I-it was just a smile... ... a smile th-that I haven't been able to bring back... N-no! I should be happy to see him smiling like that... M-maybe I'm overreacting a little bit... but then... why do I feel so... _Aoyama thought miserably. Maybe he had been seeing things, that it was a figment of his imagination. No matter what he tried to convince himself, he still couldn't erase that feeling of frustration that had caused him to snap at his friend. Jealous? Was that how he felt? Or was it anger, that his best friend had (possibly) found someone else?

This thinking was just stressing him out and the brunette decided that a nap was in need to clear his mind. He buried his face into the cushy white pillow and was about to close his eyes when-

"Shunsuke? Get down here! You have a visitor!"

_Awww man... MOOOM! _

Aoyama rolled onto his side, trying to cover his head with the pillow.

"SHUNSUKE GET YOURSELF DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT YOUNG MAN!"

Aoyama groaned and rolled off the bed. Sheesh, his mom could be so bossy sometimes. He straightened out his shirt and went out of the room. Walking to peer over the banister of the stairway to see who in the world decided to drop by.

* * *

Ichino stood awkwardly in the hallway with Mrs. Aoyama, who was throwing him questions in between her shouts for her son.

"Oh Nanasuke! How nice of you to visit! How's school? How are you coping with your studies? Have you had dinner? How are your parents?-"

The blonde managed to respond to the long stream of questions with a few short sentences and by nodding his head slowly and pretending to have been able to register all the questions. Why hadn't Aoyama come down yet? Was he sleeping perhaps or- the thumping of footsteps ruled that out. Ichino then heard a familiar voice.

"Mom, who is it- Oh. It's you." that said, the black haired boy turned and ran back to his room, slamming the door shut.

Mrs. Aoyama was taken aback by her sons cold response, to his best friend no less.

"Oh goodness I'm so sorry Nanasuke! I have no idea what's gotten into that boy..." She said. Trailing off as she walked up the staircase and headed in the direction of her sons room.

…

"SHUNSUKE. UNLOCK. THIS. DOOR. RIGHT. NOW." the stern words were accompanied by a loud banging (on the room door certainly).

"MOM I DON'T WANT TO-"

"DON'T MAKE ME GET THE KEY YOUNG MAN."

A muffled click from upstairs acknowledged the unlocking of the door.

* * *

[( Hey guys, sorry that this was a pretty short chapter! I'm (still) new OTL... Thank you so much for the reviews and story favourites! I really wasn't expecting any! Thank you so much for the reviews Yukimura Hyouga, RyuuseiDragonPenguin and Starlite1997! I hope to continue writing and posting my fics here!)]


	3. Chapter 3

"Nanasuke! You can come up to speak with Shunsuke now!" Mrs Aoyama called from upstairs. Ichino swallowed anxiously before climbing the flight of stairs. Judging from the raven haired boy's tone toward him earlier, he didn't seem very keen on speaking to the blonde. No, he didn't want to speak with Ichino at all.

_How will he react now that his mom forced her way into his room and forced him to talk to me?_

Ichino passed Mrs Aoyama in the upstairs corridor, who told him to go on ahead while she went to prepare some drinks. With a brief word of thanks, he continued toward his friends room. Looking around the upstairs of the house, it was almost just as it was the first time the midfielder had visited; the whitewashed walls covered with beautifully framed up family portraits, certificates of achievements as well as some of Aoyama's (super embarrassing- as the brunette had called it) crayon drawings ( more like colourful mess actually) from kindergarten. The only difference, as Ichino found, was the addition of a photograph of the two friends. Clad in their muddy second team jerseys, arms over each others shoulders and smiling broadly. This had been taken after a hectic training session in the rain ( by the now gone second team managers) and later given to the boys as a momento of sorts.

Seeing Aoyama's smiling face in the photo gave the blonde a sense of comfort ( as well as induced that awkward fluttering), giving him a bit more confidence to talk to his troubled- as well as somewhat angry- friend.

* * *

Aoyama sat at the edge of his bed, arms crossed, looking out of the window. _Crazy woman... trying to break my door... _Okay, so maybe he was a bit rude and maybe he shouldn't be taking it out on his friend (or his door for that matter). But all these with a valid reason! It would probably seem like an overreaction to most people but... what sort of best friend was he if he couldn't bring back an actual, full smile back? And what's more, someone else (whom they had known for two years and only occasionally spoken to) could do that in an instant? Plus, the bench duo's conversations of late always seemed to be so short and awkward. Neither felt the ability to be as open as before since the opposite seemed to be more reserved. What if Ichino had actually found a better substitute? Someone new he could share his thoughts with? What would happen if the blonde barred out Aoyama completely? Aoyama couldn't possibly imagine life without his friend. It would just be too painful to live... Life without Ichino by his side. If he hadn't befriended the blonde in kindergarten, by pulling on one of those red hair streaks ( out of sheer curiosity. They looked too tempting to resist! ), where would he be now? Probably in another school filled with bullies.

Ichino was really a true friend. When Aoyama was being bullied and beaten up by some of the older kids in their old middle school, Ichino had stood up for him ( the duo ended up getting bullied together though... Ichino wasn't exactly the most... intimidating of people... …). Ichino had encouraged Aoyama throughout the whole duration of their final year examinations so that they could transfer out to Raimon Junior High together. The soft spoken ex-captain had helped Aoyama in every way he could have and had supported Aoyama's decisions all the way. And, come to think of it, it was all for _his _sake that Ichino had decided to quit the football club.

Aoyama _did_feel bad... he knew it was his fault that they were fighting. The ashen haired boy was so kind and understanding, while he was sitting there on his bed pouting and being an asshole. Over the years Aoyama had become very fond of Ichino's gentle, rather soft spoken nature. He had learnt to read those dull blue eyes that were actually (despite their appearance) shining with warmth and acceptance. And learnt that behind that humble personality, was a fierce, yet at the same time, brilliant captain. If he were to say that he admired Ichino, that would be true- although not quite the word that would describe the feeling he had.

_If anything, I lo-_

Aoyama's thought was cut by a tentative knocking on the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Ichino took a deep breath and knocked gently on the door.

"Come in."

Ichino felt somewhat... reassured, that his friend was granting him access to the room- although it was probably due to the fact that Aoyama didn't want his mother breaking down his door anytime soon. The blonde gently pushed the door open. Aoyama's room was as he remembered it. The room was of average size, walls whitewashed; except for some crayon scribbles from when Aoyama was young. A study table covered with randomly piled worksheets and papers, the black stain from a leaking permanent marker 2 years back still covered one spot on the wood. The brunettes school bag hung on the back of the desks chair. Aoyama's Raimon uniform and soccer jersey hung neatly on the hooks at the side of his closet, hiding a couple of Rilakkuma stickers that the said rooms owner simply adored. The bed was tucked in a cosy corner of the room. A Rilakuma plush 'sleeping' cosily under the covers. Under the bed hid a soccer ball and a tennis racket- wait, Ichino didn't recall Aoyama possessing the ability to play tennis; the brunettes hand-eye coordination really sucked.

Aoyama was sitting at the edge of his bed, nearest to the headrest. His arm resting against the window frame. His dark eyes trailing Ichino as he entered the room. Ichino closed the door behind him and stood in the middle of the floor, facing his friend. His friend got up from his seat on the bed rubbing his arm awkwardly and looking away.

"Hi..." The blonde said rather awkwardly.

"Hey." Aoyama returned the greeting after a hesitant pause. _He's really mad at me, isn't he?_The ex-captain midfielder thought miserably to himself. Would he be able to untangle this knot in their relationship?

"Aoyama... I-" Ichino started to say, only to be interrupted by Aoyama.

"I'm sorry." The raven haired boy gushed, bowing to his ashen haired friend.

Ichino stared at the midfielder, startled. His friend bent over in front of him, hands tight to his sides, facing the wooden floorboards.

"A-Aoyama! Why are you apologising?" It didn't make sense to the blonde. Aoyama was angry at _him_, at something _he_had done and unknowingly hurt and/or offended the brunette. And now here he was, at Aoyama's house, wanting to apologise for whatever he had done to anger his friend. But instead, Aoyama was the one bowing and apologising.

"I-I'm sorry for snapping at you and avoiding you!" Aoyama was still bowed over, eyes shut tight. He clenched his fists that were trembling nervously and pressed his arms to his sides. Damn his voice for trembling. How could he look at his best friend after he has been such a jerk?

"I just-! It's just that... The other day... You and Shindou and you looked so happy with him..! I-I got angry... and you've been such a good friend but... but if you're happier to be with him then, I-I support your deci-" His shaking sentence was cut off.

"Shindou? Thats what this was all about?" Came his friends questioning tone.

Aoyama slowly opened his eyes as he felt a pair of hands resting on his shoulders. He looked up to see Ichino, bent down so that they were eye to eye, smiling gently.

"I-it's just that you and him... and y-you don't seem to talk to me much and-" Aoyama was a mumbling mess right now.

"I'd _never_take Shindou over you, if that's what's bothering you." Aoyama could not help but give a small sigh of relief as he straightened up, the cooped up feelings of jealousy that had resided in his chest slowly ebbing away.

"And... about our conversations, well..." Ichino said, fidgeting a little and- _was his face turning red?_

"Well," the blonde said, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "I don't know how to say this... but well... for some time now, I... I've had this strange feeling in my chest whenever I see you or talk to you and it gets kinda weird after a while so..."

"That's why you'd cut our conversations..?"

"Yeah." Ichino said, letting out an embarrassed laugh. "I don't know if I'm saying this right and I don't know if you'd flip out, but I think I... I love you."

…

_What did he say?_

…

It took two seconds for Aoyama to go completely red in the face and sink to the ground. His hands shielded his burning face from his friend.

"A-aoyama?" came Ichino's voice, filled with uncertainty on how his friend had taken his confession. He knelt down in front of Aoyama who was curled up on the floor.

* * *

Aoyama could feel his face burning up in his hands and could only think of curling up on the floor while the rest of his brain was preoccupied with those 3 words. _He... it can't be... Because I also..._In the dozens of ways you could describe the colour red, that was the colour of his face, getting a brighter and brighter red by the second. He heard Ichino calling his name, and felt a hand rest on his head.

"Ichino I..." He mumbled through his finger. He wasn't moving his hands from his face until the blush died down. Now he was just making a fool of himself, curling up on the floor, mumbling incoherently.  
"Aoyama?" The brunette heard Ichino say his name again as he felt the blonde gently patting his head.

_I need to tell him how I feel now!_

"Ichino I-" Aoyama sat up from his uncomfortable crouch, his cheeks still slightly tinged with red. His words were cut off when the ex-captain gently pressed his lips against Aoyamas own. The raven haired boy's eyes widened at the sudden motion and the pretty scarlet blush returned, but he did not pull away. After a moment of slight hesitation, he returned the kiss.

It was soft, warm, gentle and full of fuzzy feelings. He shut his eyes and tangled his fingers with Ichinos, enjoying every second of it. At that moment, both understood that the other shared the same feelings of love and adoration.

* * *

"SHUNSUKE I HAVE DRINKS FOR YOU AND NANASUKE"

Ichino was shoved away and Aoyama's school bag proceeded to smack him in the head. The next moment Mrs. Aoyama burst through the door, a tray in her arms with juice and a plate of cookies. Ichino pushed the bag off his face to see Aoyama's mother staring at them; Ichino lying on the floor with a bag thrown in his face, and her son, looking fairly embarrassed, was sitting in the corner between the desk leg and the bed, pouting and looking away with his arms folded.

"So I see you boys have made up already?" She asked, an amused look on her face as she shoved some of her sons work off his messy table and set the tray down. Yep, just like when they were children, once Aoyama threw something heavy at Ichino, all was forgiven.

"Don't forget that there are cookies." She chimed as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

((Hey guys this is the end! Sorry if this sucks ohgoshjustkillmenow. It was a short story but I hoped you liked it! I'm sorry I couldn't meet you guyses expectations!))


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